Pros:
Wofford College's nine-hole course is very solid. Take a pleasant walk through some scenic parts of the campus, throw in some baskets, and you have this enjoyable course.
- For what is offered here, and what the designers had to work with, Wofford's course is as close to perfect as you can expect. This is a thoroughly enjoyable course.
- Perhaps the best selling point here is the ascetics. You start out with some classic collegiate buildings, throw in the football stadium/Panthers training camp site across the street and the garden-like feel of holes #3 - 6, and you've got plenty to admire throughout. I actually felt like the baskets for #3 & 4 take away from the scenery in this part of campus.
- There are some enjoyable holes. Let's make it perfectly clear: there is nothing special or over-the-top difficult with any of these holes. Rather, you get nine decent holes in a row. And for any beginner-friendly course, that's the intended goal every time.
- Good flow to the course. You start and finish at the parking lot, with the first hole being a short warm-up hole and #9 being the longest, most difficult one on the course. Throw in a little elevation on holes #4 - 6, doglegs (#2 & 7), birdie/ace runs (#1 & 3), and challenge (#8 & 9), and this course will appeal to first timers up to the average player. Pros will have a field day here. For everyone else, you could do much worse with 30 minutes of your time.
- Great course for beginners. If you want to make a positive impression on somebody playing disc golf for the first time, this is the type of course I would use as an introduction. There isn't much overlap with other campus activities - unless students use the grassy fields to relax - and there's virtually no chance of losing a disc. Other than a horrible shot on #9 or some other fluke throw, very little chance of ending up in the road or hitting something that will require explaining. Throw in the scenery, and you should be able to make that positive impression!
Cons:
Just a couple nitpicking things. Otherwise, this course is very close to reaching its apex.
- Hole distances listed on this website (and Wofford's as well) are incorrect on several holes. #2 was by far the worst offenders. Hole is listed at 244 feet, and that's off by maybe 100 feet, if not more. #1 & 4 also seem to be off somewhat, with the first hole wrong by maybe 40 - 60 feet.
- Basket for #5 is bent. They've got a bunch of ropes and pulleys being used to keep the basket somewhat upright. They're basically holding out until they need to purchase a new basket. Also, the tee markers for #5 are gone, but it's very easy to see the worn tee area close to #4's basket.
- The tee marker for #9 was a pain to locate. It almost seems like the tee markers were moved/tossed aside and forgotten about. The one found marker was in the pine needles of a small tree right at the corner of Cummings and McDowell. Based on the location of the one marker, I doubt that's the correct location.
- A couple holes could be made more difficult. I'd like to see #5 lengthened by pushing the basket further back. Move the baskets or tee pads on other holes would add a little more difficulty.
Other Thoughts:
I really enjoyed Wofford's course. It's a pleasant, quick round. Holes #1 - 8 are all easy 3s. At least you have to work to get a 3 on the closing hole.
- As much as I liked the scenery on #4, I would redesign the hole. Throwing over the walking path, and being so close to a garden/flowering area seems like a correctable situation. I loved teeing off on that hole, don't get me wrong. It just seemed like having a disc golf basket and a worn spot in the grass (from the tee area) could eventually lead to complaints.
- This is a very easy course to navigate. After finding the first hole, it was easy spotting every tee and basket until the slight hiccup on #9.
- This course is not elite level. It's very solid for being a beginner-level course. Having played so many poor nine-holers that are supposed to be beginner-friendly, this course gets things right. Throw in having so many great 18-holers close by (Pipeline, Va-Du-Mar, Tyger), this course is a great stepping stone for college students.
- I would be happy to play this course again were I in the area. It's a nice, 9-hole layout, better than average. Worth a play for others in the area.